


Code: Subject A.

by Queens_Lynn



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Bruce is my favourite, F/M, Female Tony Stark, Obadiah Stane is a Dick, Rhodey Is a Good Bro, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark has a kid, mother!Tony
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-18
Updated: 2016-07-18
Packaged: 2018-07-24 19:31:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,340
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7520338
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Queens_Lynn/pseuds/Queens_Lynn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which female Tony (Toni) wanted a child before she took over SI so the child could be raised in peace, snippets from the start focusing from Iron Man.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Code: Subject A.

**Author's Note:**

> I wanted parent!Tony and confused!Avengers but mpreg annoys me so this is the fem!tony story I needed to write. This ous because a) I can't continue my hp/fma one because I can't write on my computer and that fanfiction takes effort and concentration you can't gain writing on a kindle also b) Civil War killed me and I've been going Avengers crazy so I've had soooo many ideas, (I'll write them when I get word on my new computer) but this one needed to be done as I have nothing better to do right now. May be a little OOC but since Tony doesn't have a child, we don't know.

AGED 19.

"Rhodeyyyy," Toni whined, leaning in to the man's personal space.  
"Toni, that's insane. You're young and you'll have a company to run and that's- we-," came the reply, Rhodes pushed his friend further across the sofa and crossed his arms.  
"Yes precisely, I need to do this now. I want my kid to be able to grow up in peace not how I did. I don't want them to have to build things because of media stipulation. I want them to be able to go to school and make friends. When I turn twenty one I will take over Stark Industries and I will never have enough privacy to disappear for a year to have a child in secret," Toni stated.  
"Are you drunk?" He stated in blind shock  
"No, this is important. Rhodey, really I know what I'm doing. Besides I look after Dummy, You and Butterfingers fine, they're like practice babies. I have the house and I can hire a full time nanny and I don't want to do this with anyone but you. We don't have to be together, I know an IVF specialist I trust, I just want the kid to know it's dad and I don't know anyone else. James, just think about it, please," Toni pleaded, taking hold of her friends hands, looking at him thoroughly.  
"I don't know Toni, it sounds like a bad idea," the male sighed.  
"I know, I'm going to try my best though and now will be the only time I'll be able to do it without putting the child in the spotlight, besides maybe a baby is what I need to keep me straight, I won't end up like Howard,"  
Rhodey sighed and turned his attention back to the television playing some news program in the background. An hour later he made a decision.  
"I wanna do it, but I want us to be together, I don't mind if we marry but we can be a family, okay?" Rhodey stated, turning back to look at Toni who was staring at him with wide eyes, nodding by the end.  
"Yeah, sounds great, we'll get married next month," she breathed and pulled him into a kiss.  
-  
So she upgraded the mansion's security to the point where it was impossible to break into and if someone managed it there were a whole bunch of other measures to catch them in side. The Windows were made bullet and shock proof. There were fingerprint and eye scanners to get in the gate and a bio signature scanner to get in the door. she locked Obadiah out of it

AGED 20

"RHODEY!!" Toni screamed, clamping her hand around his.  
"You're doing great, it's going well. She says it'll be time soon," Rhodes comforted, wiping Toni's short hair off of her forehead. A dark skinned midwife came into the white room that Toni had set up in the mansion for the birth.  
"You've got to push now, Ms Stark," the doctor ordered.  
"You've got this, Toni," Rhodey stated, kissing her forehead.  
"Of course I have, let's do this," she gasped.  
And so after eleven hours of labour Edward Nathan Rhodes was born. Both parents alternated between crying and hysterically giggling for around an day.

AGED 21.

Toni stood in the doorway of the Malibu mansion holding her son, facing a tall blonde woman. The woman was leaning against a wall with her arm touching Toni's, holding a deep blue baby carrier.  
"Grace you'll be okay, right?" Toni worried.  
"Of course, Toni. This isn't the first time I've had Edward alone, go to SI and wow the board members. Show them you'll be better than Obadiah and keep him off your track," was the reply.  
"Yeah, yeah, I need to strut. My first board meeting as CEO. I need to blow them away. Lucky I have a phone and a missile plan for reveal and my best shirt," Toni puffed out, head rising in pride. She looked better, less nervous.  
"Okay, I'll see you later sweetie, yeah?" The mechanic wiggled her hand in front of the child and kissed his head.  
"Ma, luck," Edward gurgled.  
"Thank you, Edward. Grace, have fun. Love you guys, see you later," Toni passed Edward to Grace and waved as she walked out the door.  
"Happy, let's fucking do this," was commanded, getting into the drivers seat.

AGED 23.

Toni was sitting on the floor in her living room playing logos with Edward.  
"I think I'm getting paranoid," she cooed.  
"What's paranoid Ma?" Edward asked.  
"It means I'm worrying for no reason, sweetie," she booped him on the nose and handed him another lego brick.  
"Why you worrying, Ma?" Edward asked, wide eyed.  
"I know you're safe with Grace and the 'bots but I'm just getting slightly jumpy because all of my time away at SI," Toni sighed.  
"Can I come with?" Edward looked excited.  
"When you're older, I promise,"  
-  
"Rhodey I know what my next big project will be," Toni beamed over the phone.  
"Okay honey, I have leave in two months try not to blow anything up until then," he stated.  
"That's definitely not going to happen, but I'm sure this is going to take a long time,"  
"What is it then?" Rhodey geared up for the worst.  
"Ima make another AI, except stronger, I'm not too sure what it'll operate in but it'll be my right hand man," Toni explained, sounding more excited as she did.  
"I thought I was your right hand man," Rhodes teased.  
"James, I love you but my AI butler will be completely superior," she laughed, "and will lead to some truly awesome security upgrades,"

AGED 24.

Toni sat with Edward on her lap on the floor in the workshop. There were cameras and wires everywhere, Toni was going to need many more to cover the whole house. Microphones and speakers are also needed. Modified ones obviously, Toni wanted them to be unseen. Toni was tapping at a StarkTab, adding more lines of code to JARVIS, he wasn't running yet, hopefully this would do it.  
Edward was playing a game on another tablet, looked up as Toni spoke.  
"JARVIS, you up?" Toni asked. This was the eighteenth test and she was wishing with all her might that he was.  
"For you ma'am, always," the British electronic voice stated.  
"Oh my god, that's amazing, what can you see?" Toni asked, standing up with Edward excitedly clapping.  
"You, Edward and the work table covered in wires behind you. I only have access to this tablet currently,"  
"I know JARVIS, you'll have the whole house soon, I'm going to let you integrate yourself into the circuits over the next week as I rebuild the cameras and microphones and speakers everywhere, will that be better?" Edward was grinning at his smiling mother.  
"Of course ma'am, thank you,"  
"What is your primary objective?" Toni asked, looking hopeful.  
"Protection and surveillance of the house, Edward and yourself," JARVIS answered immediately.  
"Yayy, you're perfect, great. Isn't that great honey?" She exclaimed, the last part directed to the baby in her arms who nodded quickly.  
"Meet your siblings, you'll also need to help them, make sure they charge and don't leave the workshop without my express permission, okay?" Toni ordered, waving the three bots towards her.  
"Dummy, Butterfingers and You," she introduced, each bot waved at the camera after their name.  
"It is lovely to meet you, I am JARVIS," to which came a chorus of beeps which stood for greetings among the robots. Dummy tried to wheel forwards but was stopped by Toni's frantic waving about the cables.  
-  
Subtle, flat almost white cameras were connected to every corner of the living room and some on the walls and ceiling. The same with microphones and speakers. There were holes which the cables went into which the builders had just finished making, all case connected and the originated from JARVIS' core in the corner of the workshop. Toni stood in the middle of the room checking each placing. Edward was with Grace in the playroom which had already been finished.  
"JARVIS tell me what you can't see. Are there any places missing?"  
"No ma'am, I can see all of the room, only the main entrance and the workshop to go now,"  
-  
Pushing the last camera into the tiny hole in the wall Toni clapped.  
"We're done with that now, my house is now sentient," she beamed.  
"Indeed ma'am," JARVIS replied.  
Toni moved down the ladder towards her backbench, pulling a hologram of a Bluetooth earpiece.  
"Time to upgrade this thing," Toni muttered, enlarging and pulling the casing off of the hologram.  
Fourteen hours later she emerged in time to have breakfast with Edward as Grace got him up. The new earpiece was in fabrication.  
"Good morning," Grace greeted, Ed looked happy and waved from his high chair at the table. Grace was at the stove cooking eggs.  
"Morning, how's it going?" Toni asked, flopping into her chair.  
"Great, I slept well Edward had no accidents and I so far, have not burnt breakfast," Grace smiled.  
"You've just jinxed breakfast, you know that?" Toni laughed. After Toni fed Edward, she ate her own food, smiling at her baby while Grace was in the shower. That's when JARVIS spoke up.  
"Ma'am, your pa is on the line,"  
"Connect her to my mobile," Toni stated, pulling her phone from her pocket.  
"Mrs Stark, you have a board meeting in an hour,"  
"I'll be there, probably," Toni monotoned then hung up.  
"That woman annoys the fuck out of me," Toni stated.  
"You have no other potential candidates for the job, ma'am," JARVIS replied, the mechanic sighed and turned back to Edward, picking him up.

AGED 26.

"You've been my pa for a year, you don't annoy me and you're trustworthy. You have gained the right to enter the mansion and learn the biggest secret," Toni stated, walking through the front door, Pepper on her heels.  
"I still don't understand," the redhead stated.  
"Good evening ma'am, Miss Potts, was the meeting successful?" JARVIS greeted. Toni smiled while Pepper jumped and whipped her head around, looking for the source of the noise.  
"That's JARVIS, he runs the house," Toni explained, "and yes, we now own a new medical company," she told JARVIS.  
"Right, well, that's strange," Pepper looked almost flustered and Toni lead her further into the house.  
"This is the closest to flustered I've ever seen you Pepper," Toni smirked, Pepper gave her a flat look.  
"That however, is not the biggest secret, not even a very well kept secret, people just don't ask. You've heard Rhodey and I discuss a 'subject A', it's a code for a person actually," Toni ranted, getting quieter at the end.  
"What?" Pepper gasped.  
"JARVIS, can you get Grace and Ed in here please?" Toni asked. A few minutes later the two stepped into the room.  
"Mum, who's this?" Edward asked, looking at Pepper.  
"This is Pepper, my pa. Pepper, this is my son, Edward," Toni waved between the two.  
"Nice to meet you, Miss Pepper," Edward smiled at the redhead, holding out a hand. Pepper smiled warmly and shook the little outstretched hand.  
"You too, Edward. Am I the first of your mum's friends you've met?" Pepper asked.  
"Yes, except Grace. She looks after me when my mum is away," the child answered.  
"How old are you?" Pepper asked, curious when they had moved to sit on the sofa and Grace had left.  
"Six,"  
"Where do you go to school?"  
"A special preschool near mum's workplace, Grace brings me every day except Sunday," this went on for a while until Pepper had to leave and Edward went to bed, telling his mother "I like Miss Pepper,"  
-  
Toni stood at the bar of the gala with a glass of scotch. Hammer stood next to her trying to engage her in a conversation.  
"Seriously Hammer, your tech is atrocious and you couldn't make a functional bomb if your life depended on it. My company is not going to make any kind of deal with yours. Ever. Now can you just go away?" Toni made a shooing motion with her hands and walked away to flirt some money out of the morons there.  
There was a picture of Hammer leaning against her in the paper the next day speculating about their relationship. Toni laughed and designed a new handgun.

AGED 27.

"Fuck!" Toni yelled, trying to get the car door open. Another car had just skipped some lights and went straight into the side of hers. Her arm was broken and possibly her leg. Her driver was bleeding from a head wound and unconscious. She couldn't see the other cars occupants.  
"JARVIS?" She asked, hoping his connection wasn't broken. She got no answer and managed to get the door open, beginning to drag herself out.  
"Oh my god! Is anyone awake?" A male voice yelled.  
"Here!" She croaked, voice scratchy. A broad shouldered man with short brown hair rounded her car and helped pull her out. She lied on the floor sighing in the cold. It was dark outside, she was coming back from the airport and this was just not what she wanted to happen. This is what happened when she let people drive her, she usually wouldn't but she was so tired.  
"I'm calling the police, okay?" The man asked, Toni nodded.  
A few minutes later they were waiting for the ambulances, Toni decided to break the silence.  
"What's your name?" She asked, slurring slightly, trying to stay awake.  
"Harold Hogan, you're Antonia Stark, aren't you?" She stated.  
"Yeah I'm not gonna call anyone under forty who's not in the army Harold. I'm gonna call you Happy, because I'm soo happy to see you," she giggled.  
"Okay,"  
-  
"Hello," Toni stated when the door was opened. She was sitting on the sofa in the small apartment, listening to JARVIS' final pieces of information on the occupant. She was wearing her best suit, she looked fancy and confident.  
"What the fuck, how did you get in here?" Happy asked, stopping just inside the door.  
"Not intimidated, nice." Toni stated, watching him hover in the front door. "Also you live in a flat, you don't have a chub lock, it was easy enough," she stated.  
"Right, why are you here or should I call the police?" He spoke.  
"Retired boxer, no known family, working as a delivery man, Harold Hogan," Toni spoke standing up.  
"Since my driver asked to be reassigned, I find myself in need of a new one, useful, interesting and you could double as bodyguard. Want the job?" She asked.  
"Erm, I'm sure it pays more than my job now, looks more interesting- why not?" He asked.  
"Great, I knew you'd say that. Pack your bags, you have two options, since you've saved my life you get mansion privileges straight away, you can either stay there or you can get an apartment where many SI employees live, near the mansion," Toni stated.  
"Mansion?" He asked.  
"Great choice, it's like nothing you've ever seen," Toni bragged.  
"I've seen mansions on tv, it can't be that different,"  
"Hah!"

AGED 29.

"Guess who got a promotion into the tech department," Rhodey stated, sliding into the mansion.  
"Yayy, well done," Toni laughed, hugging her husband.  
"Good afternoon master Rhodes," JARVIS greeted.  
"You too J, I will never get over the fact that we live in a sentient house," Rhodes answered.  
"Technically it's not just the house, JARVIS is in everything, my cars, my phone..." Toni laughed.  
"How's Ed doing?"  
"He's smarter than everyone in his class but he doesn't want to move up, I don't want him to either, he's making friends. This is why I wanted him to be a secret,"  
"I know, I don't regret a thing. Where is he anyway?" James asked.  
"Staying at a friend's house," Toni stated, sliding into his personal space. Rhodey raised an eyebrow in question.  
"We have time alooneee" she kissed him.  
-  
"Dad!" Edward yelled, jumping on his parents bed.  
"Hey Ed, how was your night?" Rhodey asked.  
"Great, how come you and mum aren't up yet. It's almost midday!" Ed exclaimed, Toni sat up, bringing the quilt with her.  
"Honey, we were up late doing very adult things," she explained. Ed looked curious and affronted.

AGED 32.

Toni sat in her office, emailing her broad of directors when Obadiah came in.  
"Toni, how are you today?" He asked.  
"Fine, it there anything you want Obi?" she asked.  
"We haven't had anything powerful made in a while," he stated.  
"Sorry Obi, I don't have any new tech. I'm fiddling with a few things and I'm updating the StarkTab at the moment. I have an idea for a flight system but I don't have any time to try and its going to be incredibly unstable," Toni sighed.  
"I'm sure it'll be fine, you'll find something," he stated.  
"I didn't think we needed any more weapons from me currently. The R&D department are doing fine,"  
-  
"He creeps me out,"  
"I know Rhodey, but he's the heart of the company and he's incredibly helpful," Toni sighed.  
"I know you think of him as a father figure, but he doesn't know about Subject A and so you know you don't trust him," Rhodey told her.  
"Yeah,"

"I've got to go, I'm at the base, we've got to be on site soon,"

"Bye,"

AGED 34.

"Blow on the dice," Toni said, leaning into the woman next to her. Toni was having a night out because Edward was away on a school trip and she hadn't been in the papers recently. Four articles were printed the next day.  
-  
Toni is sitting next to Rhodey on the sofa watching tv.  
"We should have sex," she tells him. He laughs.  
"Toni, Ed is out. We're having some quiet time as husband and wife," Rhodey states.  
"But you are not around enough and so we have to do it when we can," Toni whines, "come ooonnnnn," she said climbing into his lap.  
"Okay," they kissed.  
"I guess we have something to celebrate anyway," he said cryptically.  
"Really? What?" Toni asked. Her eyes widened and she pushed away to look at James better.  
"I got the job as SI military liaison," be grinned.

AGED 37.

"I present you, the Jericho missile," Toni waved an arm as the missile exploded. She stumbled to regain her balance.  
Taking a glass of scotch from the machine she told them about the deal then took out her phone.  
"Obi, what are you doing up?" She asked the image.  
"Couldn't sleep until I knew how it went," he was smiling.  
"Great, looks like Christmas is coming early this year," Toni smiled, hung up and got in the humvee. Rhodey came over, smiling.  
"You did great, there's not any room in there?" He asked, Toni leaned out the window to give him a quick kiss.  
"This is the fun-vee, the hum-drum-vee is over there," she smiled.  
Some joking and a few minutes later and the world exploded in fire.  
"Wait! Give me a gun!" She shouted when the last one left her. She may not do it often but she could shoot well. She was terrified, she needed some protection. She looked at her phone, she needed to be outside to get a better signal. She dived behind a boulder and tried to connect to JARVIS. A missile with her name on it landed a few feet away.  
-  
She woke up with searing pain and hands in her chest. She was half lucid for a few minutes then blacked out again.  
-  
"What the hell did you do to me," she screeched, voice raw.  
"What I did? What is did was save your life," a man says. Toni gasps and shakes, looks at the hole between her breasts and quickly zips up the jacket.  
-  
"We met once, you know,"  
-  
"I refuse," she couldn't do it. A Jericho could flatten a city block. Edward.  
-  
The water boarding is brutal. She can't breathe and the sparks from the exposed wires burn her skin. She thinks of Edward and Rhodey and hopes that even if she doesn't get out of here, she will see them again.  
She thinks Edward's barely 16, even younger than her when she lost her mother and she screams a bit more raggedly.  
They beat her black and blue but at least they don't rape her. They don't need to do that to humiliate her. Small mercies she tells herself.  
-  
"No he won't," she whispers. She wished he would but she won't live long enough with the shrapnel anyway.  
"... No he won't," the man confirms.  
-  
She gets all the materials she needs and tries to find hope.  
"That is your legacy," he tells her.

  
"This is a very important week for you then," he finishes.  
-  
"What do I call you?" She asks while they make the components of the arc reactor.  
"My name is Yinsen," he answers and she smiles.  
-  
"It's actually a nice place" is how Yinsen describes his home one night.  
"You got a family?" Toni asks.  
"Yes and I will see them when I leave here. And you Stark?"  
"My son would miss me," she whispers. He smiles.  
-  
"Stick to the plan!"  
"This was always the plan,"

  
"My turn,"  
And suddenly Toni was free. Dangerously flying then landing in the desert but free.  
-  
"Hey!" She screams when she catches sight of the helicopter. She collapses on the ground because she no longer had to force herself to keep going. She is so grateful when it's Rhodey that steps out, she doesn't even have a witty comment when he asks "how was the fun-vee?"  
-  
"I am so sorry," she shouts into the mansion after the conference and the talk with Obadiah.  
"Ma! Oh my god," Edward comes running at her and collapses against her, pulling them both to their knees in the entrance hallway as he sobs.  
"Oh baby, I'm so sorry. I almost didn't come back, I promise you I will not let it happen again,"  
"Oh my god, oh my god," he keeps saying. Toni runs her hands through his hair, comforting him with her voice until he stops shaking and gives her a watery smile.  
-  
"I want you to be part of it," Toni tells Rhodey when she visited the base.  
"I think you need to take a bit of time to sort yourself out honey. I wish I could be there but I'm needed here," Rhodey sighed, giving her a one arm hug.  
"You don't- eugh. Never mind. I love you," she tells him then leaves.  
-  
"This cannot get into the wrong hands," she tells JARVIS. "Store it in my private server,"  
-  
The first flight is exhilarating. Toni loves it. Edward laughs at her then makes her explain when he comes down to find her in a metal suit having crushed one of her cars. He had to check when he heard the crash throughout the house.  
"Mum, if that's keeping you alive, can you please have a spare. Give it to Pepper or Happy, I would say dad but those two are within your presence more and so would get it to you faster. Please?" He asks.  
"Okay, ill make one to keep in the safe here too, okay?" The mechanic relents.  
-  
When Pepper gets the files and picks up Agent Coulson she calls Toni to meet her at the office. Obadiah gets to her first, taking the arc from her chest as she heaves and pants, Pepper still on the phone starts running to get the spare arc from Happy then to her. Getting out of the car and struggling to meet Pepper half way is difficult because her body just won't okay.  
Toni is well aware that there is a gaping hole in her shirt, the special made bar for her odd shaped boobs (because of the arc) doing nothing for her dignity.  
Toni gasps as she puts in the arc reactor. Pepper and agent are there and Toni stands up, looking feral and wild.  
"I knew something was going on," she states, still struggling for breath. She pulls her phone out while talking to her audience.  
"Bring back up. Try to stop Obi from getting into the suit. I will be back." She states, dialling Rhodes. Coulson nods, Pepper looks terrified. Toni gets back into her car and is back at the house in five minutes. She has broken the speed limit so completely she's almost panting by the end.  
Edward follows her confused as she runs into the lab.  
"Stay here. Stay safe. I promise you I will be back," she states, kissing his forehead as he steps into the armour assembly platform.  
"Good luck, ma," Ed tells her before she flies off, nodding profusely.  
-  
Toni gets to maximum altitude and repulsors Obi down. It doesn't work.  
Toni still pulls out his targeting system but she's still firing.  
She stops him by aiming a small missile at the neck joint. The arc was too well protected and so she had no was of shutting off the suit. Shutting Obadiah down was the only way.  
-  
"The truth is," Toni starts, debating. On one hand she could majorly one-up Everhart but on the other, she can't afford that kind of attention.  
"I built the Iron Man. So although I don't pilot it, it is mine,"  
Beyond the reporters, Pepper heaves a sigh.  
Toni tells Coulson only high up SHIELD agents can know about Iron Man and if there is any digital copy of the information (like a file) it will be deleted.  
She tells Nick Fury to piss off and to get out of her office. He tells her he doesn't understand why her house is so heavily protected, that she has just become part of something bigger and in short to suck it up. She reinstates that if they're ever desperate enough to need her, the team will not know her identity either. She thinks it's a good thing to be protective over.

AGED 38.

"I'm dying, the is no palladium alternative," Toni breathes. "JARVIS, how fucked is it that the thing keeping me alive is killing me?" She asks, sliding down the workbench.  
"Very ma'am. I am sorry but there are measures to be taken to keep it at bay slightly longer," he tells her.  
"I am not telling people just yet, I want everything sorted and I have a while to live, I don't want people to change any opinions yet. Let's get back to work,"  
Toni restarts the Stark Expo, trying to find more ideas to expand the company. She updates the Stark phone and tablet, adding primitive holograms to the tab and extended battery and durability to the phone.  
She tells everyone that no one will ever get their hands on her suits until she wants them to.

-

"Hammer Industries at least twenty,"

"I'm your nuclear deterrent,"  
She makes sure there's an armour in Rhodey's size.  
-  
She signs the company over to Pepper, he company will go to Harley (cute kid only a couple years younger than Ed, just as smart, almost just as much Toni's) when Pepper retires as he loves tech and so will be able to update and create as much as Toni does in the future. It won't go to Ed as he doesn't, Edward is very smart but prefers chemistry and wants to be a meteorologist. The mechanic updates her will so her shares for SI go between Rhodey, Edward and Harley (who she met at a science fair) (20%, 60%, 20% respectively).  
-  
She doesn't drive the racing car in the race because she's a girl (sexist pigs she grumbles to Rhodey later) but instead she sits the the cockpit with Happy and the free standing Iron Man armour (pretending there's a person inside of it), Pepper is back inside with Natalie. She is supremely suspicious about that one, however until she has a whiff of her coming near the mansion, she won't hack into any government agencies. She is hired as Pepper's pa.  
Ivan shows up after when Toni is taking the car for a spin. There are no people around except Pepper, Happy and Natalie who are sitting in the stands while Toni has her fun. Vanko having cuts off the front half of her car. She gets out of the car the armour flies over, piloted by JARVIS and envelopes her. She wins the battle.  
Natalie doesn't look surprised about her being iron man, not really, like she's taking effort to make it look like she's surprised. Alarm bells start ringing.  
-  
When Vanko states he knows the arc reactor is embedded, she gets curious. Her second greatest secret, her identity, the arc reactor, are known. She is also worried about what else is known. She hacks every agency to find what they know about Vanko.  
As per usual, her dad was a dick. Unfortunately, the son now wants revenge.  
-  
She goes into SHIELD last because they probably know more. They don't. She does however, find out why and who Natalie is. Natasha Romanoff, The Black Widow, sent to make a personality profile. Toni decides to ignore her but tells Pepper first, just in case.

AGED 39.

She sends Edward away for a week, to a special science camp thing before he stars college. The week includes her birthday on which she gets wasted with Rhodey. Pepper and Natalie (Natasha) show up and a few others for a while, when everyone leaves she starts drinking in earnest.  
He gets confused when she doesn't want to have sex. This is because she knows he will see the black veins sprouting from the arc.  
She gets defensive and Rhodes knows something is wrong. She provokes him into taking an armour (she knows the army ordered it) but they don't fight. Rhodey flies off but comes back the next morning. Toni lies on the couch, asleep. He sits next to her and strokes her hair, waiting with a bottle of water and some pain meds with the television on quietly.  
She takes the offerings as soon as she sits up. She then pulls her hair out of the ruined bun, gives James a smile and goes to have a shower.

She comes back twenty minutes later wearing sweats and a t shirt, her hair is in a high ponytail and she sits on his lap, tucking her head under his chin, wanting to feel close to him.  
"James," she starts.  
"Oh no, you only use James when there's lots of feeling involved," he says, she gives a small laugh.  
"I'm dying," she says.  
"What? How? Really?" He jerks, horrified and looking into her eyes, she nods.  
"Palladium poisoning. It powers the arc reactor, there's no alternative, there's no way to stop it," she says, pulling her shirt down so he can see the dark blue veins covering her skin.  
Rhodey had to leave and so Toni still, because she could and she was sad went to get doughnuts for her hangover.  
-  
"Miss! I am going to have to ask you to edit the doughnut," Fury stated.  
"Do I look at the patch or the eye?"  
-  
"Honestly I'm quite hung over and so I'm honestly not sure if you're a hallucination or not," Toni squinted at the man across from her in the booth.  
"I'm very real," was the dull reply, "I'm the realest person you're ever going to meet,"  
"Really? Because if so, I am not in the mood for breaking apart your hopes of me joining your super secret boy band," Toni waved a hand in dismissal. Toni moved her head around, looking for other people.  
"That's not looking good," Fury stated, eyeing the black lines running up her neck.  
"I've seen worse," Toni smiled.  
Natasha appeared dressed all in black and walked over to Fury.  
"We've secured the perimeter but I don't think we should keep it much longer," she stated to him.  
"You're fired, Natasha," Toni drawled.  
"Agent Romanoff," Fury corrected, eyebrow raised in question.  
"That's not up to you," Natasha told Toni.  
"I told Pepper the moment I knew you were from SHIELD, I think you'll find she agrees with me," Toni smirked.  
"And when was this?" Asked Nick.  
"After Vanko, Whiplash. Nice by the way," Toni said.  
"I'm a SHIELD shadow. As soon. As we knew you were ill I was assigned to you," Natasha stated.  
"I guess it was kinda obvious, I did go a bit OTT," Toni sighed.  
"You've been very busy," Fury stated. "You made your pa CEO, you're giving away all of your stuff, let your husband fly away with your suit. If I didn't know better-"  
"You don't know better. What do you want, I have things to do today, because if I don't tell people now, Rhodey will and I will not be dealing with the fallout," Toni interrupted.  
"Like your fallout? You've became a problem. One that I have to deal with and contrary to your belief you are not the centre of my universe," he stated, it set Toni on edge.  
"Hit her," Fury ordered Romanoff. Romanoff life's her arm, needle in her hand, Toni was already backing into the booth, able to catch the hand.  
"Nope, no needles. What's in it?" The engineer asked, freaking out.  
"Lithium dioxide, it's gonna take the edge off, were trying to get you back to work" Fury stated. Toni nodded, Natasha injected her in the neck.  
"Its not a cure," Natasha stated.  
"There is no cure!" Toni shouted "I've tried every combination of every known element and there is no viable replacement," she leaned back into her seat.  
"Well I'm here to tell you you haven't tried them all,"  
"Your motivation speeches need work," Toni quipped.  
"Shall we move this to your workspace then?" He asked.  
"If you are talking about my workshop, no. SI we can go to,"  
"I'm getting curious as to why your house is so well protected," Nick stated.  
"Well you won't know that until you have mansion privileges. And considering everything you have on me is written down, you never will," Toni smirked.  
-  
"Unfinished technology," he told her, sitting in her SI office.  
"Something greater,"  
"Vodka-fuelled rage,"

"-The only person-"  
"I was never enough. Not only was I not the heir he wanted, I didn't like weapons. I was good at it but if I had shown him Dummy, God he wouldn't have been happy," Toni told Nick.  
"He never told me he liked me, he never acknowledged me outside the media, his favourite moment was when I could be shipped off to boarding school,"  
-  
"As a matter of fact I did. He was one of the founding members of SHIELD," he stated. Toni blankly stared at him.  
"You know I have hacked you before, I know," she said, "I also don't care. He was a great boss, worker, inventor. He was an awful father. I am not surprised he left this to me because he was aware of what I could do, no matter that he was going to be sub par to a girl because it had to happen. I'm another means to an end,"  
"You've got this then?" Fury asked.  
"What?"  
"Natasha will remain at SI for the meantime, just in case, and you remember Phil Coulson,"  
-  
"I'm sorry, you don't have mansion privileges," Toni laughed as she entered the front gate. Phil looked blankly at her from the passenger seat. Toni parked the car outside the front door, happy the Windows were still darkened and both got out, Toni was holding a large box.  
"I'm going to go in and look at this box of nonsense. You will stay here or I will have JARVIS disable you, JARVIS can see anything you do and if you need anything ask, he can relay conversations from me, I'll bring you a blanket," Toni said and walked inside. She came back a few minutes later with popcorn and a bean bag. She grinned at Phil's blank face.  
"I would tell you I will come in if I find any funny business but I know I won't be able to," Phil monotoned, "however if you try to leave I will taste you into the ground and watch you drool,"  
"Okay then. JARVIS, buddy, make sure Phil doesn't try anything funny," Toni stated, opening the door again.  
-  
Toni watched the video and growled.  
She still buys Pepper Strawberries and fails to tell her.  
-  
Building a particle accelerator was fun, thought Toni as she swung around a hammer, talking to Ed over the lab's speakers.  
"Honey, I'm really quite busy, I'm saving my life right now. But I love you and ill see you Tuesday, yeah?" She said, Ed confirmed then hung up.

Getting the new reactor in felt like getting her soul back.  
-  
She's so glad Rhodey married her. She wonders if they hadn't spent as much time together because of it if he would have noticed her poisoning. She thinks the fight would have been so much worse. He would have thought she was being a dick for no reason, he would have handed the suit over to the military blindly. She shudders to think what Vanko would have done with it.  
-  
They get rid of the Hammer Drones and save the Expo.  
-  
She signs the consultant contact but gets Fury to add two clauses, the identity business she told him after the Iron Monger and that SHIELD can never try to take her house. She still gets the medal.  
-  
"You will tell me next time you're dying!" Ed screamed at her.

AGED 40.

"Yayy! My baby isn't a baby anymore," Toni yelled at her son's birthday party. It was held in the mansion's entertainment room, Ed's six closets friends, 4 of whom had been close for years (they had followed each other to the same college from high school), sat spread out on the sofas watching movies. All of them and their parents had signed non-disclosure agreements (whether it had been years ago or recently) so Toni would let Ed tell them about her and the mansion. Toni sat in the corner, observing and smiling.  
"I haven't been a baby for ages, mum," Edward complained, his friends laughed. Toni left to find Grace and food. She came back with both.  
"You aren't that different to yourself as a baby," Grace greeted.  
"If this were a normal family that would be where you bring out the baby photos," Ed laughed.  
"We have every moment from the time JARVIS came online in his memory servers if you'd like?" Asked Toni.  
"Indeed we do, ma'am," JARVIS inputted.  
"You're lucky it's not normal! It's interesting! Also only your mum would fly us out here from New York for your birthday!" One of the friends, Kate, exclaimed.  
"I still can't believe you all moved so far away for College!" Toni exclaimed.  
"Ma'am, master Edward, Colonel Rhodes is calling, do you want to take the call here or elsewhere?" JARVIS asked.  
"Here's fine," answered Ed.  
"Happy birthday Ed!" Rhodey greeted.  
-  
"Give yourself twelve percent of the credit," Toni told Pepper, Ed who was projected on the holograms across the bar laughed.  
"Twelve percent?" Pepper look almost outraged.  
"An argument can be made for fifteen!" Toni defended, Ed laughed harder.  
"It's twelve percent my baby?" Pepper continued.  
"Well I did all the heavy lifting, and that security snafu? Totally your fault,"  
"Oo what security snafu?" Asked Ed.  
"My private elevator to the workshop was teaming with sweaty workmen. Good view but the principal stands only people with mansion privileges are allowed in it,"  
"I'm totally telling dad about the 'good view' comment," Ed told her.  
"No!"  
"Ma'am, the telephone, I'm afraid my protocols are being altered," JARVIS sounded alarmed. Toni picked up the phone from next to her so the person couldn't see Ed.  
"Stark, we need to talk," Phil greeted.  
"You have reached the life model decoy of Toni Stark, leave a message or go away," Toni said, Ed covered his mouth to quieter his snickering.  
"This is urgent,"  
"Then leave it urgently,"  
"Ma'am the elevator-" stated JARVIS and Toni hung up on Ed and flicked down the holograms.  
"Security breach," Toni stated.  
"It's not the private elevator, don't worry," Pepper stated.  
"Mrs Stark," Phil spoke  
"Phil! Come in," said Pepper, standing up.  
"Phil? His name is Agent," Toni corrected.  
"We need you to look this over," Phil stated, holding out a folder.  
"I don't like being handed things,"  
"That's alright because I love to be handed things, let's trade," Pepper stated, taking the file and putting in front of Toni.  
"Official consulting hours are between eight and five every other Thursday," the engineer stated.  
"This isn't a consultation,"  
"Is this is about the Avengers? Which I know know nothing about," Pepper asked, stuttering at the end.  
"Desperate times huh? Wasn't it scrapped anyway?"  
"I didn't know that either," Pepper added.  
"Yeah I didn't qualify, apparently I'm volatile, self-obsessed and don't play well with others,"  
"That I did know," Pepper stated, Toni glared.  
"This isn't about personality profiles anymore," Agent stated.  
"Ooo very desperate times, I know Nicky loves hanging my file over my head, in between bouts of deleting it anyway," Toni laughed and flicked the files onto the hologram plates in front of her, pictures and information about the Avengers appeared as she did.  
"I'm going to take the jet to D.C," Pepper stated.  
"Tomorrow,"  
"You've got homework, lots of it too,"  
"What if I didn't?"  
"If you didn't?"  
"Yeah,"  
"If you finished then you could take the jet to see Rhodes and annoy the newbies at base," Pepper stated. Toni laughed.  
The two left and Toni got started.  
"J, tell Ed I'm sorry but I have Avengers shit to do and to stay safe, tell Rhodey somethings up too please," she asked.  
-  
Toni didn't think it was going to start so soon but before she knew she was playing AC/DC to annoy Natasha and threatening a god with every piece of weaponry she has.  
"Make a move, Reindeer Games," she states, the Iron man voice robotic. Loki surrenders, they take him in.  
"I don't like it," Captain America states, she nods. It is known that Iron Man rarely speaks, mostly because there is rarely anyone in the armour so Toni lets JARVIS say things like "back off" and other bodyguard-ish things but nothing else so the speech patterns are the same. Toni rants at JARVIS inside the armour, it just isn't transmitted through the external speakers.  
"Iron Man, Fury didn't tell me he was calling you in,"  
-  
The fight with Thor is great. She even manages to only let out one quip about drapes, it falls on confused ears. The lightning thing could come in handy, Toni thought.  
-  
Toni immediately loves Bruce. She knows if any of these people will get mansion privileges, it will be Bruce.  
"Iridium? What did they need the Iridium for?" He asks.  
"It's a stabilizing agent," Toni states, finishing her conversation with Phil.  
"It means the portal won't collapse in on itself and it will stay open for as long and as wide as is wanted," Toni states, looking at Banner.  
"Uh raise the mid-mast, ship to top sails. That man I displaying Galaga! Thought we wouldn't notice," Toni stated dramatically, she covered an eye with a hand adding, "how does Fury do this?"  
"He turns," Maria told her. Toni managed to slip a hacking implant under Fury's desk. She knew something was up and she needed proof. Although if any of her soon to be teammates (Steve) would believe her would be another story.  
"Well that sounds exhausting. The rest of the raw materials Barton can get hold of pretty easily, only major component still needed would be a power source. A high energy density, something to kick start the cube," Toni told the others.  
"When did you become an expert in thermonuclear astrophysics?" Hill asked.  
"Last night. The packet, Selvig's notes, the Extraction Theory papers. Am I the only one that did the reading?" She rants.  
"Does Loki need any particular kid of power source?" Steve asked.  
"He's got to heat the cube to a hundred twenty million Kelvin just to break the Coulomb barrier," Banner said.  
"Unless Selvig has figured out how to stabilize the quantum tunnelling effect," Toni added.  
"Well if he could do that he could achieve heavy ion fusion at any reactor on the planet," Brenner replied.  
"Finally someone who speaks English!" Toni cried.

She tells him right away he loves everything he's done and the Hulk is not a problem, she smiles.  
She works with him solidly and invites him to candy land, she knows he'll probably take it if he controls the Hulk later.  
She tells him to strut and Captain America fortified his place on the 'Dick List' right there with Justin Hammer and Obadiah.

She doesn't mention being Iron Man but she does tell him about the arc reactor and that's more than most know.  
-  
Toni is so glad she could have cried when Bruce takes her side. She knows there is a chance she would have broken down going up against Howard's great hero.  
JARVIS tells her he's been in for a few minutes, she could show him, Toni knows Steve won't believe even the evidence, he has to find it himself. She gets back to work.  
"J, I'm getting worried," she states. Banner looks up from his monitor, she taps the earpiece you can barely see in her ear, advisable with her hair pulled up in a bun.  
"Ma'am, I do not know how to help," JARVIS replies, she sighs.  
"Keep an eye on Subject A, I promised safety," she states.  
"I have all possible cameras trained on his whereabouts,"  
"Thanks buddy," Toni finishes.  
"Subject A?" Banner asks.  
"Kinda like a contingency plan," she states and then leaves the conversation.  
-  
Steve finds what Toni hoped he would.  
"Sorry the computer was moving a little slow," Toni snorts and brings up the weapons designs on the computer screens.  
Fury blames scare tactics and aliens.  
-  
Toni thinks people should be less afraid of Bruce and more respectful.  
-  
"Little girl with a body guard, take him away and what are you?" Steve sneers.  
"Myself. Genius, billionaire, socialite, philanthropist," Toni states.  
"I know people worth non of that worth ten of you. I've seen the footage, the only thing you protect is yourself. You'll never make the sacrifice play, lay down on the wire and let the other guy crawl over you,"  
  
"A hero like you? You're a lab rest Rogers, everything special about you came out of a bottle. I made the Iron Man, that's more than you did!" Steve puffs his chest out, he tower's over Toni. She isn't afraid.  
-  
"-until you dragged me back into this freak show and put everyone here at risk!" Banner shouts.  
"You wanna know my secret, Agent Romanoff? You wanna know how I stay calm?" Banner unconsciously grabs the scepter, Fury and Natasha have hands on their guns.  
"Doctor Banner. Put down the scepter," Captain orders. He does as the computer beeps.  
"Got it," Toni rushes to the keyboard.  
"Sorry kids, you don't get to see my party trick after all," Banner states, breathing deeply.  
-  
The helicarrier explodes.  
"I'm contacting Iron Man," Toni yells, rushing out of the lab.  
"J!" She shouts. The armour meets her half way between the containment room, Steve goes towards the hole in the ship, Toni is relieved to have the protection around her.  
"Engine three," she tells the captain, her voice normal being transmitted through internal microphones (not out the Iron Man speakers) into the Captain's communication device, "Iron Man will meet you there ill direct you through fixing it,"  
"Got to the control panel, tell me which relays are in overload position," she states, getting rid of rubble.

"The relays are intact, what's your next move?" Steve says.  
"Iron Man is clearing the rubble, he'll have to push too rotor to restart it," she tells him.  
"He'll get shredded at that speed,"

"Stay by that red lever! It will slow the turbine down,"  
He pulls the lever late but Toni survives. Phil doesn't.  
-  
Toni goes through the Avengers speech in the Iron Man suit. She stays until the end.  
-  
"We are not soldiers!" She shouts out of it.  
-  
"Son of a bitch!"  
"JARVIS! What is happening to my tower!?" She shouts, cap looks puzzled.  
"I'm sorry, Ma'am I am in the process of taking off the arc reactor"  
"Keep trying, I have had enough of this day already!" She continues.  
"Go now," Toni states, "Iron Man is flying out, get to Stark Tower, I'm going to stay here, I'm needed for damage report," she tells him and leaves.  
-  
"The mark VII is not ready to be deployed," JARVIS tells her.  
"Skip the spinning rims, were on the clock,"  
-  
Toni walks down the disassembly steps towards the bar Loki is holding his scepter.  
"Please tell me you're going to appeal to my humanity," Loki opens.  
"You're not human so actually I'm planning to threaten you,"  
"You should have brought the armour for that,"  
-  
Loki tries the scepter twice, Toni loves the arc more.  
"It should work," Loki muses.  
"I'm glad my husband doesn't have performance issues," Toni laughs. Loki throws her across the room.  
"JARVIS, any time now," she says. Loki grabbed her by the throat.  
"You will fall before me," he snarls, throwing her out the window.  
"Deploy!" Toni shouts. The suit barrels out the elevator, past Loki and locks on to the tracking bracelets.  
-  
She flies up and starts taking out Chitauri as soon as the portal opens.  
She is by the portal taking out as many as she can when the others show up.

The fucking space whales are a problem.  
The Hulk shows up like she knew he would.

"Incoming," Iron Man states through the comms, "we better bring the party to them," she tells JARVIS.  
The fight is difficult and long and Toni is really tired of this things, especially in New York, she will not risk Edward. The repulsors take out anything and she takes down a space whale but going through it, against JARVIS' advice. She sees Captain ordering the police around and Banner jumping from building to building. Romanoff kicks ass and Barton jumps off a building.  
-  
"Stark, you hearing me? We have a missile headed straight for the city," Fury comes in.  
"How long?" She asks.  
"Three minutes at best. Stay low and wipe out the missile," he orders.  
"Thrusters!" She orders JARVIS and flies upwards. She attaches herself to the missile.  
"I can close it! Can anybody hear me? I can shut the portal down!" Romanoff calls.  
"Do it!" Rogers calls.  
"Wait!" Toni yells as herself.  
"Stark, these things are still coming!" He shouts.  
"There's a nuke coming in, Iron Man has to put it through the portal!" She combats.  
"That's a one way trip!" he shouts. She stays silent.  
"Call Ed please, J," he picks up a few seconds later!  
"Mum! What's going on, there're aliens on the news, attacking Manhattan. You look super badass by the way. We have everyone in my dorm, dad said he's twenty minutes out, JARVIS told him as soon as the helicarrier blew," he rambles.  
"Ah, I love you Edward, know that. I love your dad too. I told you I'd tell you if there was even a chance of me dying this is it,"  
"What mum? The fight seems to be going your way," Ed shouts.  
"I have to put a nuke through the portal, I don't think I'll make it, know that I love you," she is right next to the portal, Edward is sniffling.  
"Also- Captain America is a dick," she states as she flies through. JARVIS and the suit shut down and she sees space. And the Chitauri but it's terrifying. She closes her eyes.  
-  
She wastes up with a gasp.  
"What the hell?" She says, opening her eyes to bright light, the faceplate was ripped off, "please tell me nobody kissed me," she laughs, putting her head back.  
"We won," Captain says, smiling.  
"Alright great, good job guys. Let's just take a day. Help me find the emergency release hinges," she states, hands scraping the sides of the suit, she finds them, "have you ever tried a shawarma, I don't know what it is but it sounds amazing. I want one," she says standing up.  
"We're not done yet," Thor states, looking at the tower.  
"Can you bring the armour? I can't carry it," she asks Hulk, he picks it up.  
"Was the reactor on when I came down?" She asked.  
"No," Natasha answers.  
"Right well, to to tower it is!" She says.  
-  
"If it's all the same to you, I'll have that drink now," Loki states from the floor. The Hulk snorts.  
"I've got some chains that should hold him in my workshop, I'll be right back," Toni states. She grabs the chains she used for the heaving lifting, they might even he the Hulk. She takes off her shirt and changes the reactor, just in case. She puts the shirt back on then goes upstairs.  
-  
They wrap Loki in chains held at the end by Thor's Hammer so he can't get out. They collapse on the sofas, Banner sleeping on one already.  
"JARVIS, alert subject A," she states, sinking further into the sofas.  
A few minutes later, the six sitting there thinking and resting, JARVIS speaks, Rogers and Thor actually jump up, Barton raises an eyebrow, Natasha has heard it before.  
"Ma'am Colonel Rhodes is on the line," he states.  
"JARVIS, no video feed, just in case," Toni answers.  
"WHAT WERE YOU THINKING!" Comes from the speakers.  
"Rhodey! Calm down the Avengers are sleeping," she laughs.  
"Are you kidding me? Flying through a portal into space?" He continues.  
"I'm alive aren't I?" She asks. Rhodey growls.  
"Say hello to Rhodey, Avengers," Toni states, they do.  
"Now that think about it! Your bullshit last words!" He shouts.  
"Calm down," Toni sighed, "are you where I think you are?" She asked.  
"Yes,"  
"I'll be there soon, okay?"  
"You better be,"  
"Love ya, byee," she said as JARVIS disconnected the call. She jumped up, "okay people, up and at 'em," she cooes.  
"Why?" Asked Barton.  
"Because I have to go pacify my husband, you can stay here, I'll show you the kitchen and some rooms. I promise you it'd better than what SHIELD has, also Point Break, if you wanna sleep rather than guard your brother I have a guaranteed Hulk proof bunker in my lab,"  
"That would be appreciated, Man of Iron," Thor stated. She showed Thor to the basement level workshop and bunker that she made just in case.  
"It's JARVIS or code operated. And since JARVIS is online Loki will not be able to get out," she tells him.  
She brings the Avengers to the kitchen, grabs coffee that JARVIS had made on the level below her penthouse and sets them up in rooms on the floor.  
"I'll be back by breakfast," JARVIS can contact me, I'll be in the mark V anyway," Toni states and goes back down to the lab to grab the armour.  
-  
"Ghost here," she knocks on Ed's dorm door.  
"Mum!" Ed barrels out, into her arms.  
"My god, do not scare us like that," one of Ed's friends (John) pipes up, hand over his heart, leaning back dramatically. Toni smiles at him and walks in the door, Ed having backed off.  
"'Also Captain America is a dick' wanna explain that one?" Rhodey asked.  
"He is, we had it out before the helicarrier was attacked,"  
-  
The Avengers stayed together. Toni told them she was always Iron Man but they couldn't tell the world. She kept Stark Tower, Stark Tower, needing it to be the new SI headquarters. The Avengers still lived there. She gave them four floors, two housing the Avengers and some private space, a kitchen and common room, a training floor and a floor that contained everything else, a Hulk room, a ballet studio for Natasha, an art studio for Steve, etc.  
Bruce got his own lab on the top R&D floor, Toni kept hers private.  
Natasha, Clint and Steve went on SHIELD missions, Thor was in Asgard, Bruce and Toni worked. Toni was often in her own lab, but she was also in Bruce's or overall R&D regularly as she still lead the department.  
Every month or so they were called in for missions. Assisting the Fantastic Four or the X-Men. Or getting to stuff when they couldn't. It was mostly nutcases like doom or accidental science projects.  
There was a weekly training session and a dinner/movie night for 'team building'.  
-  
Toni let Bruce into her lab after four months and three major battles. He was amazed, Toni was happy and he kept coming back.

AGED 41.

Thor came back about seven months after the Battle of New York. He was the one who brought up 'subject A'.  
They were sitting in Toni's penthouse kitchen, at the table in the middle of it mostly, Steve stood by the fridge, Toni sat on the side by the coffee maker. It was early morning and everyone was idly chatting or listening to the news feed from the living room beyond the doorway. Toni's phone rang, she pulled it out from her pocket and smiled.  
"H, my man, how are you?" She greeted.  
"I'm great, Toni, you okay?" Harley answered.  
"I have coffee and no new burns, I cannot complain," Toni laughed at the boys offended sound.  
"My mum finally said I can come down for a couple of weeks the next holiday," Harley yelled, excited, the Avengers looked up at the noise although they couldn't understand the words.  
"I'll email her, okay? When?"  
"Two weeks Friday," he said.  
"How long?"  
"She said I can stay for however long but I have other things to do so two weeks?" He questioned.  
"Okay, I'll pick you up two weeks from Saturday, Rhodey will grab subject A and we can spend it binging until Rhodey looses his hair, sound fun?" Toni asked, excited, she gets Harley, Rhodey and Edward. And she can spend it at home.  
"I always love science binging, do we have any Iron Man upgrades?" He asked excitedly, Toni laughed.  
"We have security upgrades, the whole house. Yeah?"  
"Yeah, fantastic, I'll tell mum, you can double check it with her later yeah?"  
"Yeah and I'll notify Grace,"  
"Bye then!"  
"Byeee," Toni sang and hung up.  
"Who was that?" Asked Clint.  
"Someone you don't know," she answered.  
"What is this 'subject A' you speak of often?" Thor queried.  
"It is what it is," Toni smiled, loving the cryptic answers.  
"Can we have a straight answer?" Steve asked.  
"Listen. Until you have mansion privileges, you will never find out, and that is it. And currently the only one who does it Bruce," Toni stated.  
"But I don't know what it is either," he said.  
"Ah, because I haven't told you yet. Also I will give you the choice. Only Pepper, Rhodey and my housekeeper Grace know. You can't tell anyone. But it will mean you know my greatest secret and fear. However you will have to protect it and that's why I can't trust the rest of you, sorry." Toni stated, having moved to sit next to Bruce.  
"What can't you trust us?" Asked Steve.  
"Don't get me wrong. I trust you guys plenty. I trust you with my life, but you're loyal to SHIELD. I would need you to have at least some loyalty to me exclusively and you would need to sign something," she said, standing up, "and Thor, you have a habit of announcing everything, I don't feel as though you'd be able to keep a massive secret," Toni sighed. Everyone looked slightly shocked.  
"Guys, I would just appreciate my wishes and let it be. Wanna go Brucie?" He nodded and they left.  
"I think that's the longest I've ever seen Toni be serious," Clint said when they left.  
"Are we going to tell Fury that Toni has a secret?" Steve asked.  
"What's the point? We knew that already. It's why her mansion if Fort Knox," Natasha answered.  
-  
Two weeks later Toni and Bruce were ready to drive to the airport, they were relaxing until they left. Toni was making a smoothie in the kitchen while the other Avengers sat in the adjacent living room.  
"This is gonna be fun," Toni told Bruce as she sat next to him, she was very excited.  
"It can't be that great," Clint muttered.  
"My mansion is beautiful, I cannot wait to see it again, plus I haven't seen Grace since I moved here," Toni stated.  
"It can't be that different to a normal mansion," Steve stated. Toni got out her phone.  
"This is a picture taken from a helicopter," she said, showing the phone.  
"Woah," Clint said, "fair enough,"  
"And we have two weeks of going through every left over idea on the house servers and on paper there that I left in the rush to get the 'bots here," Toni squealed, Bruce was looking happy.  
"Ma'am, if you do not wish to be late, you should leave immediately," JARVIS spoke  
-  
They drove to the airport, landed Tennessee and got in a rental car.  
"You'll have to sign the non-disclosure agreement when we get to the mansion," Toni told Bruce.  
"I'm glad you're trusting me with this although I'm sad the others couldn't know," Bruce replied.  
"Yeah, but I worked hard and have been for twenty one years to keep this secret, I can't have them just telling SHIELD," Toni sighed.  
-  
"Harley Keener, Bruce Banner,". Toni introduced.  
-  
"Ah a kid," Bruce said.  
"Not biologically mine, but yeah,"  
-  
Bruce welcome to the mansion," Toni said, opening the door to JARVIS' greeting.  
"Master Edward and Colonel Rhodes will be arriving shortly,"  
Bruce signed the thing and they waited in the living room.  
A few minutes later Rhodey and mini-Rhodey with lighter skin and Toni's eyes walked in.  
-  
"So actually your kid?" Bruce said later.  
"Yeah," Toni replied.  
"I get it, thanks for trusting me,"  
-  
"I have camera and bio scanner upgrades, upgrades to the inner tear gas and electrical nets. I have an Iron Man hydraulics upgrade for the mark XXII and anything else you guys can think of,"  
-  
A dark blue, brown and white armour was displayed on the hologram, the real thing in briefcase from in front of Ed and Toni.  
"I present you the Sparrow Armour. Built for you Ed. It had basic HUD display the only weapons are bullets and repulsors but it has a fully charged arc. It's purpose is to get you away from something, not for you to fight in it, okay? It's to keep you safe," she said, hugging him.  
"Okay, thanks mum," he nodded and tried it on.  
-  
Two weeks of mansion and Iron Man upgrades later and everyone was back home. Toni was still running on excess energy of having the kids around and smiling too much.  
The other Avengers didn't comment but laughed at her hyper antics.

AGED 42.

When Steve walked into the penthouse he was expecting a couple of Avengers and a regular lazy Saturday. He did not expect to see Toni laying half on top of the bar, hugging a bottle of whiskey.  
"Toni?" He asked, she grunted.  
"Are you okay?" He continued.  
"Today sucks," she announced. Steve decided to see if the Avengers knew why Toni was drinking at eleven in the morning.  
"No idea," said Clint.  
"Me neither," Bruce supplied. Thor didn't know but Natasha had an idea.  
"Obadiah Stane died five years today," she told him. He called Rhodes.  
"Toni's drinking," he said by way of greeting.  
"Damn I told her to wait for me to get there, I'm about half an hour out. Just leave her she won't want to explain it and you'll be no help clueless," Rhodey told him, Steve let it be.  
When the Avengers went up that evening to eat together and check on Toni they came across two very drunk people. They were leaning against each other, Toni half on top of Rhodes on the sofa. They were giggling at some news feed and kept poking each other in ticklish spots.  
"Maybe we should let them be," said Clint.  
-  
The next morning the couple headed down to the upper Avengers level for coffee and to explain. Both were ruffled and wearing sweats and t-shirts. Toni's hair was in a very sloppily done bun and Rhodes wasn't holding his posture.  
"Morning," Toni greeted the gathered Avengers, making a beeline to the coffee machine. Once Toni had downed a cup and was into her second, Rhodes still on his first they sat at the table.  
"So yesterday?" Bruce asked.  
"Five years ago today, a man who although did not have mansion privileges, I trusted, died. He was the only one apart from Rhodey there when my parents died and I looked up to him as a father. While I am not a fan of thinking about his death, I killed him. I knew him as Obi, Rhodes knew him as Obadiah but you may have heard of him as the Iron Monger," Toni stated. She downed the rest of the coffee and continued, "he literally ripped my heart out and left me to die, what I did yesterday I do every year. If James isn't with me it usually ends up in a self destructive spiral of drunk engineering. Luckily when Rhodey is, and he usually is, we end up laughing about what a creep he was and all his mistakes. I trust that answers all of your questions," Toni told her audience, leaning into Rhodey.  
"I wonder how one person puts up with all your drama," Clint joked, breaking the tense atmosphere, Toni laughed.  
"Because he's had practice," Toni tells him.  
"How did you two get together, anyway?" Steve asked.  
"We met in MIT, no idea when Rhodey fell but I remember when I did. I was more than kinda drunk, just graduated, parents just dead and building Dummy. Rhodes walks into my workshop and pulls me out. I asked him, 'are you a platypus?' And he, in the most unimpressed voice just said 'yes'. And I realised he was ridiculous enough to deal with me," Toni told them, smiling at the very fuzzy memory.

AGED 43

"Iron Man!" Steve yelled as he watched the building collapse, Toni still inside it.  
The fight was finished quickly after that and the Avengers started moving rubble, a medic on the way.  
She was breathing but unconscious, bleeding from gashes on her waist, left leg and her head had a small but deep cut where the suit had buckled.  
They made quick work of the emergency catches to find her leg broken and her breathing harsh.  
-  
"Left leg was broken in two places. Almost all her ribs were bruised, two broken three fractured. Sever concussion, pierced lung, two broken fingers," the doctor read out. Toni had just come out from surgery, Rhodey was on his way and everyone was fretting.  
-  
The cargo bay out the helicarrier opened and Rhodes flew in with Ed on his tail, both in their armour.  
"Who is that?" Fury asked.  
"This is Sparrow, he stays with me," Rhodes stated, lowering his helmet and leaving no room for argument, "where's Toni?"  
"Med bay, I'll lead you, the Avengers are there too,"  
-  
"Avengers," Rhodes greeted the five worried faces.  
"Colonel," Steve said.  
"How bad is it?" Ed asked, voice modulated.  
"Bad, but she'll live. Wait- who are you?" Steve answered.  
"Hah, wouldn't you like to know," Ed replied, grinning inside the suit.  
"Do we know anyone else who Toni trusts with the armour?" Clint asked.  
"No-" Bruce started, "ah," he finished when he got it.  
"What?" Clint asked.  
"I'm sorry, if you don't know we can't tell you," Rhodes stated, "anyway, can we go in?" He asked, mentioning towards the door.  
"Yes, we were told we were being too loud," Natasha answered.  
"They told us not to disturb the Man of Iron," Thor stated.  
-  
"Toni I swear to god, if you do not wake up before I leave I will be so pissed," Rhodes said from the beside the bed having taken off the armour.  
-  
"You will stay on bed rest for as long as the doctors tell you," Rhodes tells her when she's discharged as he has to go too.  
"How was the Sparrow?" She asked.  
"Worked perfectly,"  
-  
"So you gonna tell us who Sparrow is?" Clint asked two weeks later, sitting on the sofa next to her.  
"Depends," Toni answers.  
"Really? I thought you were gonna say no," Clint sits up higher, excited.  
"Well I'm not going to tell you a name," Toni tells him.  
"What are you gonna tell me?"  
"Sparrow is Subject A," Toni states.

AGED 45.

"It's probably not the safest thing identity wise to be staying in the tower," Toni tells Edward.  
"It'll be fine, I'm staying on employee levels anyway," he answers.  
-  
"Harley's coming down for two weeks tomorrow, Happy will pick him up from the airport," Toni informs Ed.  
"Yay, he can stay with me, I have room,"  
-  
"I've got to go to team dinner. I'm going to skip the movie but they will be suspicious if I go to nothing," she tells them, closing the hologram files she was working on.  
"Okay, were gonna play around with some hologram upgrades," Harley tells her, Ed nods, she leaves.  
"Hey guys, what's cooking?" Toni asks, walking into the kitchen.  
"Toni!" Steve cries.  
"We haven't seen you in four days, with only Bruce allowed in the workshop, we couldn't get you out!" Clint informs her.  
"I've been working on the holograms," she stated with a shrug sitting at the table.  
"Anyway, we have lasagne," Steve informs her.  
The dinner is going well until random evil magic user number whatever that they took down a couple of months back appears in the middle of the kitchen.  
Toni immediately throws her plate at him, everyone standing up. She doesn't know how he gets through everyone but suddenly he's right in front of Toni and she panics. He touches the reactor with a glowing hand and vanishes.  
It takes a couple of seconds to catch up and realise what happened but then then she looks down and the reactor isn't glowing. She stumbles back, gripping the kitchen table and tries not to think about Obadiah, a high ringing sound in her ears or hands lowering her to the ground. The shrapnel, closer to her because of it being taken before affects her faster. Her teammates are fretting, Steve keeps her upright as she struggles to breathe.  
"J, replacement," Toni breathes.  
"It is on its way ma'am," JARVIS informs her and the others took confused. Less than a minute later Harley and Ed bound out of the elevators, the others go on the defensive.  
"We have the arc reactor! Calm down!" Ed shouts and makes his way over.  
"Sorry," he states, pulling her shirt down and pulling the disabled reactor out. He quickly inserts the brightly glowing one and twists the locking mechanism. Toni gasps and surges forward, out of Steve's arms and towards Harley.  
"Oh fuck," Toni breaths, "thanks," she hugs Ed.  
"Bet you're glad I made you make extras," he tells her and she manages a weak chuckle.  
"Toni are you okay, how will the change in position of the shrapnel effect you health?" Harley worries.  
"The magnet will pull it a bit backwards, don't worry, it wasn't out for that long. I just had a bit of a panic attack, glad you guys were here," she hugs them both. The Avengers watch the interaction with wide eyes.  
"I guess the cat's out of the bag," Toni sighs, turning back to face the Avengers.  
"Who are these people, Toni?" Steve asks.  
"This is Harley, I met him a while back at a science faire and he got along with Ed so I had to keep him. As for Edward here, I'm sure you can guess," Toni said. The Avengers looked, noticing the dark skin and broad shoulders, Toni's eyes. Natasha got it first.  
"Your son," she said.  
"Correct, if I had a gold star I would give it to you," Toni clapped.  
"But- how?" Asked Clint.  
"I had him when I was twenty, I wanted him out of the spotlight," Toni shrugged.  
"Friend Toni, you are a mother, congratulations on your healthy young," Thor stated.  
"Thanks, big guy," Toni replied.  
"You cannot tell SHIELD. Seriously, I have non-disclosure agreements at the ready and everything. I will not have my boys pulled into danger because of their association with me," Toni tells them. The Avengers nod, even Natasha of which Toni is very grateful.  
"So who's subject A?" Clint asked.  
"Ed is, I built the Sparrow armour as a means to get him away if shit ever whet sideways and he had to run," she answers, Clint gapes.  
-  
The Avengers plus Edward sat in the kitchen.  
"So will we always see you as often as this?" Asked Steve, looking at Toni cook.  
"Probably not, I'm around for a few weeks before I have an assignment though," he answered.  
"Was it you Toni called during the Battle of New York?" Clint asked, "because I always thought it was Rhodes but Natasha now thinks it was you,"  
"It was me, actually that reminds me," Ed stated, Toni mentally cringed, "your last words were still bullshit but I'm glad you figured it out," he smiles.  
"Yeah well it was true enough at the time," Toni replies.  
"What we're your last words going to be?" Asked Bruce.  
"Also- Captain America is a dick," Ed said with a pointed stare towards Toni. She laughed, Steve looked appalled.  
"Well we're friends now," she laughs.  
\--

**Author's Note:**

> Well that was fun, longer than I thought it would be though.  
> Be proud of me I uploaded something!  
> Tell me how it was and check out my Tumblr  
> -fairiesteel.tumblr.com  
> EDIT: I went through it on a computer, I hope I've got rid of all the spelling mistakes.


End file.
